I have no idea what I'm du-ing

pointer28

mossym wrote: »

i know someone that might swim the Lost Sheep for you if you were interested. has done it alla few times, but not able to run any more and i'd say he might be interested

Just checked and registration closed I'm afraid.

mossym

that's the first round, another wave of entries opening in mid may i believe

catweazle

Nah thats only the 1st round, they will open it up again, presume it will be posted here with dates. Perhaps enter as an individual regardless and then enter discussions about a possible swimmer closer to the date - tug the heart strings - that auld dodgy shoulder issue acted up again but you would really love to still continue and it was your last promise to your recently deceased dog that you would complete a 1/2 Ironman in Kenmare where his favourite beach to swim was

Dory Dory

Here in the states, some events allow swimmers to participate as both an individual AND a relay - meaning, the swimmer exits the water, passes the relay chip on to the cyclist, but then continues on to complete the rest of the race him or herself. Just an idea for you.

pointer28

Monday 27/4/15

Trainer Road - Vandever - 45 mins - TSS 64 IF .93

4x4-minute VO2max efforts @ 112-114% of FTP to challenge a rider’s ability to sustain a high percentage of power at maximal oxygen uptake

Short turbo session but very intense. The four minute intervals seemed to get longer as they went on but got through them eventually. Did this shortly after dinner and it really wasn't a great idea, I felt light headed, nauseous and a bit queasy for a while afterwards but slept it off and all good this morning.


Tuesday 28/4/15

Run - 9k @ 5:23 mins/km

Another new route to explore and I think it's a nice one for the future. While not flat, there are no killer climbs and I think it will work well for general aerobic runs.

This is the first time I've actually followed a proper, structured taper week leading to a race. In the past I've underdone it and started the race feeling flat and tired, this time I'm keeping up the frequency with a little bit of intensity and dropping the volume so hopefully I'll feel fresh and raring to go on Sunday.

Gave the bike a proper clean and re-lube this morning and replaced the bearings in the rear wheel so hopefully all will be good for the weekend (presuming I did it right and it doesn't fall apart underneath me). Two hour test ride tomorrow morning and then check if the cups and cones need re-adjusting.

pointer28

Wednesday 29/4/15

Bike - 52k

Horrible, wet and windy day, frickin' wind was freezing and I got soaked in a hailstorm.

Underdressed for the conditions and started to feel unwell nearing home, managed to get some good food and some medicine into me, took it easy for half an hour and feeling better now thankfully.

Good news is all my hard work and spending on bike maintenance is paying off, replaced wheel bearings yesterday and it felt as if there was someone pushing me along at times. While I can't quantify it with any certainty it just felt easier to go faster and the handling felt better too which I suppose makes sense as the wheel is no longer wobbling in the dropouts and felt more planted on the road.

pointer28

pointer28 wrote: »

This is the first time I've actually followed a proper, structured taper week leading to a race.

Yeah, that lasted all right. Visitors Thursday and Friday, travelling Saturday so nothing again for another 3 days. I know excuses, excuses, excuses and it's all my own fault, getting up an hour earlier or scheduling my day better and I could have got something done. Even 30 minutes each day would have been enough.

Sunday 3/5/15

Blackstairs Adventure Race 7 Steps - 4:59:57

Disappointed in this to be honest, I certainly should have been sub 4:30 and maybe closer to 4:00 if everything well really well. A couple of reasons for the poor performance, most of them my own fault but the main one I haven't quite worked out yet.

1. I didn't treat this with the respect it deserved, the fact that I'd never done one before, the fun that's poked at AR's here as messing and the fact that I can't read an elevation profile meant I was woefully unprepared for the gradients and the technicality of the trails. These I can both work on though, just plenty of hard work required. While the first run (10.5k) was tough I ran most of it comfortably, passing plenty of others without burning any matches and only had to walk on some of the really steep and technical downhill bits.

2. I haven't sat in a Kayak in over 25 years and it was absolute torture from start to finish and I'm not sure why. I have never been so uncomfortable in my life from the first minute I sat in the bloody thing. If it was lack of fitness or upper body strength I could blame myself and know how to improve it but I was so sore and uncomfortable with horrendous pain in my lower back that I could hardly paddle at all. It took me 65 minutes whereas the front guys were closer to 30, and I was overtaken by endless amounts of people that I had passed on the run. But, what was worse was that it left me in a complete hoop when I eventually got out and both calves were completely cramped and set like concrete, ruining the rest of the day. What annoys me most is that I don't have an answer to what caused it, is it a lack of core strength? Wrong size Kayak (if they even come in different sizes) or just lack or specific fitness required. I don't think it's as simple as Kayak fitness as most of the others had no experience either and they all left me for dust.

Because of the cramps, the rest of the day was just a slog, I could spin easily on the bike or jog slowly on the flat or downhill but as soon as any pressure came on the bike or the least little hill on the run, I was screwed. I don't mind walking the really steep or technical bits where it's often as fast anyway, but it's a bitch to be walking on a mild rise when you know you could be easily clipping along at sub 5:00 mins/km without too much effort.

Anyway, I kept going and got to the finish eventually but I could have happily jumped in the river and doggy paddled for 3k to get out of that f'ing kayak (and I can't swim).

It's just an awful pity to cross a finish line grimacing in pain with cramps and not even be breathing hard.

Just to add insult to injury, had a shower, got my bag of clean clothes and realised I forgot to bring trousers. Ended up walking around the car park trying to find the GF and luckily enough there was a manky pair of tracky bottoms in the car, which as filthy as they were, could have been worse.


Monday 4/5/15

Bike - 26k

Just a nice easy spin to try loosen out my legs which it did a little, but to make the weekend worse I took out my phone to take a photo of the seaside and watched in horror as my coffee money went flying and floated away on the tide.

One of those weekends and my legs still aren't right.

pointer28

Just an update since checking the official results.

Fastest Kayak split - 21:29
Average Kayak split - c.45 mins (guesstimate)

I was the slowest Kayak split by a good 5 minutes and took more than 3 times the fastest split.

So, in summary, it's even worse than I thought it was.

joey100

From the sounds of it you had a tough weekend!

Was the kayak a sit on top or was it enclosed? Did it have any thing for you to put your feet on and if it did how far away were these?

pointer28

joey100 wrote: »

From the sounds of it you had a tough weekend!

Was the kayak a sit on top or was it enclosed? Did it have any thing for you to put your feet on and if it did how far away were these?

Hi Joey

Sit on top

There were stepped foot rests but none of them felt right. It was mostly my back though, felt like I was lying back rather than sitting up straight, like I needed a back rest.

joey100

I know the type of boats you are talking about. I'd take a guess and say that you were too stretched out trying to get your feet onto the rests. Like you described, a lot of people nearly ly down in the boat. Puts a lot of strain on the back and then will slow you down by lifting the nose of the boat out of the water so you have less of the boat tracking through it and also shortening the paddle stroke, paddles going in not as far forward and coming out too early too. That's all a guess though!!

Neady83

pointer28 wrote: »

2. I haven't sat in a Kayak in over 25 years and it was absolute torture from start to finish and I'm not sure why. I have never been so uncomfortable in my life from the first minute I sat in the bloody thing. If it was lack of fitness or upper body strength I could blame myself and know how to improve it but I was so sore and uncomfortable with horrendous pain in my lower back that I could hardly paddle at all. It took me 65 minutes whereas the front guys were closer to 30, and I was overtaken by endless amounts of people that I had passed on the run. But, what was worse was that it left me in a complete hoop when I eventually got out and both calves were completely cramped and set like concrete, ruining the rest of the day. What annoys me most is that I don't have an answer to what caused it, is it a lack of core strength? Wrong size Kayak (if they even come in different sizes) or just lack or specific fitness required. I don't think it's as simple as Kayak fitness as most of the others had no experience either and they all left me for dust.

Well done Pointer, sorry it was such a tough race. I'm a novice on the Kayak too and a non-swimmer so I've no advice for you though the two times we've kayaked this year, I haven't felt any pain like you did. Hopefully some of the others will have some words of wisdom for you

pointer28

joey100 wrote: »

I know the type of boats you are talking about. I'd take a guess and say that you were too stretched out trying to get your feet onto the rests. Like you described, a lot of people nearly ly down in the boat. Puts a lot of strain on the back and then will slow you down by lifting the nose of the boat out of the water so you have less of the boat tracking through it and also shortening the paddle stroke, paddles going in not as far forward and coming out too early too. That's all a guess though!!

All of that sounds exactly right!

Stretched out would be a perfect description, and someone actually joked that the tracking was out in my kayak as it was really hard to keep it going straight, correcting the direction every second stroke, almost like driving a car with one soft tyre.

Thanks for the help, any suggestion to improve it other than buying my own, which I'd love to do but not going to happen.

joey100

The difficulty with steering it definitely means you were leaning too far back. Again with the nose out of the water it puts all the weight on the back of the boat on a relatively small part and makes it very easy to turn, so you were pretty much doing the equivalent of a wheelie the whole kayak section!

The best advice is to try and sit up as straight as you can, even nearly leaning forward. Push your arse as far back as it will go in the seat, feet should be on a footrest but not straight legs, should be a bend in the knees. This will make you more stable too. So bent legs, arse right back into the seat and a slight lean forward. When we were teaching kids we used to talk about a thing called the 'mars bar line', basically it meant that if you were to dribble out your mouth and let it run down your chin the spit shouldn't touch your body and should clear your buoyancy aid too and fall down to your legs, a lovely mental picture there for you. If the kids weren't leaning forward enough to do this they had to buy us a mars bar.

When your putting the paddle into the water it should go in at your feet, this forces you forward too, it should come out of the water at the hip. Reason for coming out at the hip is if you go past this people have a tendency to lean back again and make a rocking motion going from putting the paddle in at front of boat to taking it out at the back.

Any more questions or anyway I can help with the kayaking bit let me know!

pointer28

Thanks Joey,

That all makes a lot of sense, wheelying would be a good description!

pointer28

Wednesday 6/5/15

Run - 5.4k @ 5:24 mins/km

Was dreading this all day but knew it had to be done so zipped up the Yuki suit (marathontalk reference) and got on with it. Only a short trot around the block and my legs felt like pure crap for the first 5 minutes, warmed up as I went along and eventually felt nearly normal by the end so all in all a worthwhile session.


Thursday 7/5/15

Bike - 79k

Honestly, 2 hours probably would have been enough seeing as it's a recovery week but I took it very easy. I stopped in Roosky for a coffee and spent a good twenty minutes watching the river go by and soaking up the sun, glorious weather but quite chilly in the shade so a gilet and arm warmers were very much needed. Legs were mostly fine, still a little tightness in my right calf but much improved, probably wouldn't have been able for much hard work but that wasn't the point of today.

pointer28

Jeez,

Over a month since I last updated this, didn't realise it had been so long.

So, May was a washout, lost interest for a while so I binned any thoughts of training and just went for a run when I felt like it or rode my bike when i felt like it rather than training because the plan said so.

Got back at it properly last week and starting to enjoy it again. I'm not going to list everything I did for the last month but I did a decent ride in the Slieve Blooms last week for a total of 148k and heading back up there tomorrow. Running has been disgraceful, middle of April since I did a long run or any speed work of any kind, but I have done a few 8/10k trots around the countryside. Silage season down here too so massive tractors being driven too fast on narrow roads to add excitement to the running.

Managed to get engaged too, however the hell she tricked me into that. Thought I might get a new bike out of it but apparently we can't afford it now as there's a whole crap ton of new bills coming our way.

woody1

firstly congrats

secondly, you may or may not be aware that the humbert olympic, in mayo, are having a duathlon category this year, with seperate prizes for the duathlon section. on june 28th. check out humbert challenge on facebook.

catweazle

Congrats Noel,

She should at least wait till you get the wedding rings on before she puts the pants on

Dory Dory

Congrats on the engagement!! Hmmm....just a thought, but does Base2Race have a bridal registry?? :D

career move

Congrats Noel

pointer28

Thanks everyone for the kind wishes, much appreciated.

Anyway, should probably get back to some training talk, if you could call it that.

Wednesday 10/6/15

Bike - 51k

Gorgeous morning for it, bright and sunny, nothing but shorts and a jersey, no arm/leg or any other type of warmers required, not even a rain jacket in my pocket. Long may it continue. Simple local route, a few hills but no real climbing as I'm saving that for tomorrow.

Run - 7.8k @ 5:17 mins/km

Quick local loop and the heat felt really intense, not so much because the temperature was that high, but because it's so long since I've ran in anything resembling heat. Great complaint to have though.


So, since I logged this morning I've been signed up for the Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle, friend of mine was doing it with his wife, wife injured and off the bike for 8 weeks so quick phone call to me and all done and dusted in 30 minutes. TBH, I probably wouldn't bother with it only for they're going as I don't relish the thoughts of thousands of inexperienced cyclists swerving all over the roads. I'm slow, but at least I'm slow in a straight line.

Neady83

Congratulation

pointer28 wrote: »

TBH, I probably wouldn't bother with it only for they're going as I don't relish the thoughts of thousands of inexperienced cyclists swerving all over the roads. I'm slow, but at least I'm slow in a straight line.

I did one last week and three peeps, cycling 3 abreast, with a bunch of cyclists coming behind them at speed, slowed down at a crossroads, nearly all stopped, to wave and say hello to spectators :rolleyes:. They were only being nice and enjoying the day but not thinking at all that they were blocking the road and there was a chance of a serious pile up. I'm slow and not with a super amount of experience but I have the cop on to shout if I'm stopping. The ring of Kerry will be very pretty though, you can distract yourself with the sights

pointer28

Thursday 11/6/15

Bike - Slieve Blooms 5 Climbs 142 kms

https://www.strava.com/activities/323331108

The Cut Westwards 7.2 km Avg 4%

Nice gentle introduction and managed to set a Strava PR while taking it easy. This type of long gradual ascent seems to suit me best, just pick a gear and spin all the way to the top.

The Wolftrap 4.7 km 6%

I've done this climb many times now and I still hate it and can never seem to get it right, the gradient is constantly changing with some steep ramps and I can never get into a rhythm at all.

Glendine 11.1 km Avg 3%

The most beautiful climb in the Slieve Blooms (IMHO) especially on a day like today. While it seems quite long, the first few kms are very gentle followed by a descent, then a moderate gradient on a lovely new road surface and it only gets properly steep and rough for the last couple of kms.

Ridge of Cappard 1.9 kms Avg 9%

I'd heard of this climb and made the effort to go and find it. All I can say is holy sweet divine mother of something with lots of swearing thrown in. 1.9 km might sound short compared to the others but it's a pure bitch in places, incredibly steep ramps, granny gear and out of the saddle for nearly the full length, pure and utter torture.

The Cut (from South) 7.3 kms Avg 3%

Probably the kindest climb of all, mostly a gentle gradient and should have been relatively easy but I was knackered at this stage and just struggled the whole way.

My biggest ever day's climbing with a total of 1,900m of ascent. Last week my life time record was 1,200m, the week before it was 1,000m so quite a big step up in a short space of time but I don't think Alberto Contador has anything to fear from me.

All in all though, quite a positive day, new saddle only fitted yesterday and seems to be a massive improvement. Obviously you expect a little discomfort after 140 kms but a veritable pillow compared to the last implement of torture I was sitting on.

pointer28

Friday 12/5/15

Bike - 40 kms

Just a straightforward recovery spin, nothing to write home about. Legs a little flat but no aches, pains or niggles of any kind. Feckin' ravenous all day though! I'll have to do another long one tomorrow to burn all the calories I'm consuming today.

pointer28

Saturday 13/6/15

Run - 8k @ 5:26 mins/km

Spent the entire day painting the outside of the house and just managed to squeeze this is before it got dark. If I ever meet the boll1x that invented pebble dash I'll shoot them.


Sunday 14/6/15

Run - 7/8k @ 5:26 mins/km

So, while the rest of the forum are doing heroic things at races all over the world, I manage to injure myself with a paintbrush. I crap you not! Tendonitis in my wrist from holding a brush all day Saturday. Wanted to get out on the bike but not sure I could grip the handlebars and even the thoughts of road vibrations were painful so I just went for a quick run instead rather than wasting the day entirely.


Monday 15/6/15

Bike - 93k

Wrist still sore so a trip to the pharmacy for anti-inflammatories and lots of strapping before my bike ride. Tried to pick better roads (good luck with that in this country) so did a nice gentle lap of Lough Ree in the sunshine. Really enjoying the cycling this weather but my running is gone to crap.

pointer28

Tuesday 16/6/15

Bike - 52k

A lap of Slieve Bawn just exploring the local roads again, while I didn't quite do this fasted, I didn't have a big breakfast and I didn't eat anything on the bike either. I've had a suspicion for the last while that I'm too reliant on carbs as an energy source and I think I confirmed it this morning when I just ran out of energy after about 90 mins, no pain whatsoever, breathing easy and HR easy, not quite a full on bonk but just no energy.

While I'm lucky in one way working from home that I can do my sessions whenever suits while others here are forced to do early morning sets with work etc, I think that they're forcing fat adaptations through fasted workouts early in the mornings, while I'm always well fuelled before and during my sessions, which can be a bad thing in some ways, at least that's my theory. I think I'll have to make the effort to rise early and do a few runs or easy bikes before breakfast a couple of times a week.


Run - 7.8k @ 5:18 mins/km

Holy mother of crap the weather is just horrible. Didn't feel that hot heading out but it was like running in a sauna and the air was like treacle. I've never sweated so much on an easy run in my life. To add insult to injury, the local farmers have gotten bored playing with their silage machinery and are playing with their slurry spreaders this week instead so the smell of cow ****e did nothing to improve the air quality.

pointer28

Thursday 18/6/15

Run - 14.3k @ 5:36 mins/km

Shockingly this is the longest run I've done since the end of April!

I used to knock out 20k runs twice a week with impunity and now I'm calling 14k a LSR, oh my Lord things really are bad.

Anyway, the run itself was uneventful, sticky weather again but nothing else of any consequence.

Funny thing is, I had intended to go to Tullamore this morning with the GF and then cycle home via the Slieve Blooms so I had everything packed into the car last night except the bike itself. Changed my mind this morning and decided to cycle from home instead. Got changed into my gear and realised my helmet was in the car, thought no problem, I'll borrow hers which managed to fit when I opened the retaining strap to the max, pink flowers but I'm comfortable with my sexuality so I'm good to go. Then realised my cycling shoes were also in the car and I don't even have a pair of flat pedals to swap for the day so cycling was off the menu completely for the day, so run it was to be.

pointer28

Friday 19/6/15

Bike - 108 kms

My planned long, hilly ride on Thursday didn't happen so I'll have to get in a couple of medium long rides over the weekend instead. Because I'm new to the area I'm doing a lot of exploring of new routes, strava segments etc so I planned this route on Strava and off with me.

The first 40k were horrible, busy main roads with no hard shoulder and lots of lorries flying past. Once I got off the main roads and onto back roads that I hadn't seen before I started to enjoy it and managed to find the only Strava classified climb in Longford. 1.6k @ 5% won't kill anyone but it's better than nothing.

The good news is that the new packable rain jacket I bought a few months ago certainly keeps the rain out and got well tested, bit sweaty but it's a 20 quid jacket so what can you expect. I'll probably try and buy something decent for the winter but this is perfect as something to stick in the back pocket for emergencies.

pointer28

Saturday 20/6/15

Run - 7.8k @ 5:18 mins/km

Just a short run today. Had hoped to get in 2 or 3 decent cycles over the weekend but my wrist was still very sore and the cycling seemed to be aggravating it and not letting it heal properly so made the decision to take a few days away from the bike.


Sunday 21/6/15

Nothing, nada, zilch, not a sausage. A rest day wasn't planned or particularly needed but got stuck into some jobs around the house and didn't want to stop when I had some momentum going and by the time I was finished it was late, I was tired and hungry so no exercise done.


Monday 22/6/15

Run - 7.8k @ 5:41 mins/km

A continuation of Sunday's domestic duties but I managed to squeeze in a quick run later in the evening. Slowest I've ran in a long time but spent the last two days at physical labour so a bit sore and stiffer than usual.


Tuesday 23/6/15

Bike - 52 kms

New bibs arrived in the post this morning and wanted to get out for a quick spin to see how comfortable they were and also to see had my wrist improved much with the few days off as I'm heading off to do lots of climbing tomorrow and wanted to make sure all was in order. Happy to say the bibs were lovely and wrist is 95%. Still feels a tiny bit weak but no pain or creaking sensation.

Arrived home from my spin to find my poor old dog dead in her bed. She's been sick a long time and while it was a relief to her and we'd only just had the conversation this morning about considering euthanasia very shortly it was still a shock to walk in to. If I had expected she was going to go off that soon I wouldn't have gone anywhere. Even though she's truly better off out of pain and gone to join her old buddy hunting rabbits in doggy heaven I would have liked to have been with her for her final moments.

In one way I'm glad she got to die in her own bed rather than terrified in a vets surgery.

A bit morbid for a training log but these are the hands we're dealt.